Well, it’s challenging enough to keep up with one blog let along two. Things have been busy lately focusing on launching two new products. KP Culinary Corporate and the Mint Social Dashboard.
I’ll be writing about both on the Restaurant Marketing Partners
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What a bummer! At Macayo’s last week I had chips, salsa and guacamole for my lunch; not the most nutritionally sound lunch however in light of my new dietary restrictions opposed upon myself and the fact I enjoy it, I was looking forward to it.
Everything was tasting great however an hour after eating it I didn’t feel well at all. My head really hurt, my stomach was upset and I just felt horrible. Kind of feeling like an outer body experience and here I was stuck at a Verizon store dealing with it for about an 1 1/2 hrs. I had some water with me however not enough that I felt much better. I ended up walking around Whole Foods checking that out, then back to Verizon and then over to Trader Joe’s.
Once I got home I took an Alka-Seltzer and drank 9.5 pH water. I finally started feeling better.
I am so bummed as chips, salsa and guacamole was one thing I was keeping in my world because I liked it, it’s not the worst thing on the menu to order and it’s something that is a standard offering in a restaurant and for a party. Thing is I felt so bad at that there’s just no way I’m going to eat that again! I have had the chips from Fresh n Easy since the transition but they are organic and maybe not as greasy, no issues with that.
Because of that my stomach was sensitive I didn’t eat anything else, went to a meeting, had a couple glasses of wine then went to a water meeting. They had food there however I missed it but there was some crackers so I took two just to help absorb the wine. On the way home I was hungry and hungry for Asian food. stopped at a Pei Wei for Vietnamese Rolls and found out they were out! Are you kidding me? I then looked at their menu and thought, that the heck I am going to eat now?? Everything had oil in it and steam veggie’s wasn’t what I was in the mood for.
I ended up leaving going next door to Pita Jungle. They had some items that would have worked and I have always like them as well however at that point I thought what the heck, I had salad at home so that’s where I went after stopping by a Fresh & Easy for raw Almonds to nibble on until I made it home.
Never wanted my dietary needs to be this dramatic so I really need to read up on how to handle this. I understand restaurants and institutional cooking so that’s always been something I’ve been aware of however feeling like a fish out of water on this one.
Lately I find myself going to different stores looking for items that fall under this segment and kind of bewildered. My main focus is raw whole organic foods so learning who carries what has been an experience. Now I need to learn how to prepare these foods for the long term.
Told a friend of mine that I feel like an alien in my own body lately. I also learn what a raw emotion was all about. Yikes, that was a trip.
The next day I tried eating popcorn with this Vegan butter spread however felt uncomfortable with that too but not horrible. It’s clear that I do have a sensitivity to oils, to what level who knows.
Now, I make sure I have carrots and apples on hand and readily available so I can eat on the go. I also need to be better prepared for meals out.
So far I am making sure to stay vegan which wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be. I’m currently about 80% raw and holding; I’m very happy.
Thank you for reading this!
The catalysis for my transformation came from a business opportunity, taking audio content from a Raw Foods Summit and that was held a couple years ago. I am breaking this out into a few sections as this is all encompassing in my life.
What’s interesting is the interviewer for the summit was at the La Jolla Public Market two months ago; I picked up their card however didn’t have time to visit with them. The gentlemen that is was the creator of the Raw Foods Summit and of the Simply Raw for Thirty Day’s attending a Social Media Business Network. I had no idea who he was nor anyone in this segment.
Over Labor Day weekend I hammered on the content. Six speakers with six presentations all about an hour long all with a different perspective in healthy living. I knew going into this it was going to change my life and it has. I’ve reached a point of no return.
The first time I was introduced to Raw was by Chef Peter Schonman, corporate chef of Biaggii’s in the foray of the world famous Charlie Trotter’s. Chef Trotter had just written a huge book on this subject. I was with Nestle at the time and thankful I was not a vegetarian that night. I had the most amazing dinner of my life with two corporate chefs and two other foodies. I bought the book for Chef Peter and had chef Trotter sign it. It was an amazing night.
As I have been the food industry for 24 years, going vegetarian would have been pushing it, vegan wouldn’t have worked and Raw/live foods would never have happened until now. The time was perfect. I love the food service industry for many reasons yet at the same time, my personal beliefs differ. It’s been a struggle and mindlessly going with the flow. I’ve been in a food comma and this is my awakening.
Holistic
My first introduction into the holistic life was from an Aunt that was diagnosed with cervical cancer. I was young and not sure what she was doing to help heal herself, but she did not chose main stream medicine at the time. Her story I will learn more about through this process and especially if I pursue a book; for now, she did died from her cancer. This experience planted seeds for me.
In general, I had been reading more about spirituality and found for me comforting answers not felt before. This brought peace and understanding to so many areas of my life and felt like I was finally “home” in my belief system.
A close friend, and at the time, very large customer of my mine introduced me to the Charka’s and Reiki. We both attended a retreat in Burlington, Iowa became Reiki Level I. Between this and the movie, “My Life” I was hooked on learning more about energy work and have been reading off and on ever since. Once you start in this, it spiders out into many other areas in this realm and extremely thankful for this direction in my path of life.
The Transformation
For vegetarianism I thought well, once I get through the meat products I would change however that ened up happening over night. The animal issues is one thing, how industry processes it is another and in addition to all that my main motivator was to live more vibrantly. I have admire those cultural that have a nutrition base belief and food is truly a life force and to elevate your connection with life without the culture of death did it for me. Over-night I just could not eat one more bite of meat; my mind just shut it down. I am comfortable and committed to this yet all my life a meat eater for I have been working through the emotional side of it. I have now made a paradigm shift. The emotional ties to food is along every step of this.
Listening to the body was something else that stood out. I have more energy and feel great. I quit eating packaged processed foods a while ago so that wasn’t a shock to the system. I also quit drinking milk over a year ago as well. I have been drinking 9.5 water on and off over the past year however four months ago finally bought my Kangen Water Machine. Five different waters, seven different levels with so many opportunities to change much of my life in many areas.
The majority of the speakers talked about keeping the body pH balanced and which fell in line with what I was learning with Kangen. Diseases cannot grow in alkaline conditions and our bodies are made to heal it’s self so I had already been looking to change these habits to be more inlined with that.
Eliminating dairy has been an interesting perspective as well because I enjoy baking and baked goods. I am not going strict vegan or raw, meaning, refuse to eat everything that doesn’t fit that. My all time favorite chocolate has chocolate butter and cream and over $40.00 a pound. I have been given this as a gift a few times and if someone’s giving this to me I am going to enjoy it however will not buy it for myself. Thankfully it can only be found in Belgium and New York. If I am offered or give a piece of this chocolate yes I’m going to have a piece.
Detoxing the body has been a big focus and will go into details on that throughout this process. This is the area I was concerned with however with my prior diet changes, this has not been a noticeable difference compared to many others I had heard about.
I am going to the gym and working out more. The added energy I really do feel like I need to burn it off; the Cacao Nips (raw chocolate) really does help. With the diet changes the energy has changed however you can really tell the difference with Cacao Nips. I don’t leave home without them.
When I originally opened this account my goal branding me and blogging about my health goals. Interesting to note, I thought by having a blog it would help keep me focused on my goal and yes it will however there is just so much going on with this transition that I have to start logging the progress. What the best part about it is that it might help and inspire others so as well and hoping it does.
For me, living this type of life style has been something I always wondered about however getting here seemed like a 1,000 miles away. Now that I am here I am not going back; I’ve reached the point of know return and thrilled to be here.
With positive energy,
Madonna
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Hello Everyone,
Well, this is about me, Madonna Kash. Of course we all listen to the same station, WIIFM; what’s in it for me. I get that so that is why when approaching a situation I keep that in perspective. In an exchange of energies, I respect that always which I why I make sure I am holding up my end of the exchange.
Out of high school I stayed around Waterloo, IA wondering when life was going to really start and when it wasn’t working for me, I had to leave. I started my food service career there and enjoyed it so when I moved to the Quad Cities, I looked for work in that field.
There I did all kinds of things and I worked hard, had a blast and was very comfortable in my career however I needed a change of scenery and ended up moving to Chicago. I worked for a company in the suburbs for almost six years Chicago and had many friends I would visit with in Chicago so the transition was very easy for me.
Over the years I found out, I loved to travel, boating, camping, marketing and the food service industry. One thing that always remained the same is my love for people.
I ended out here in Arizona and it has been a culture shock in many ways however things are working out quite well; the one thing that I enjoy most is people. Well, the weather too when everyone else is knee deep in the hoopla of snow and ice.
My current focus creating a life-work balance providing customers with a quality product and service while creating a life that fits with my idea of living. If you know me you know I am a honest hard working creative caring individual looking to make things around me better than I found them, have fun doing it and making a positive difference.
One thing I have learned over the years is that I am proud to be from Iowa and yes, proud the history of our farming in our families. Those values have been passed down throughout the years and part of my DNA. Putting these work ethics to work for restaurant operators, helping them market and grow their business is a passion of mine.
As for my friends and family, I am blessed with many of both and they have been a tremendous source of strength over the years. My personal goal is to be a good friend and family member in return.
Cheers to life and love!
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